Following yesterday's announcement that Ireland, Scotland and Wales have declared an interest in jointly hosting Euro 2020, CARL O'MALLEYassesses the chances of success
THE FAI’S interest in co-hosting Euro 2020 with Scotland and Wales might just fly this time.
Back in 2002, when the pyrite was beginning to settle on Bertie’s €100 million Bowl idea; with public and political opposition to the project reaching a crescendo after talk of a €1 billion construction bill, the former taoiseach got a hint of things to come when experiencing, what was by today’s standards, a slight dip in popularity.
Having talked up the idea of a 75,000-seater stadium in Abbotstown, he had entertained the notion of joining the Scottish Football Association in hosting Euro 2008. As with many things in the Ahern era, the foundations were not sound and the bid sank under Uefa scrutiny. The Scots were not entirely blameless, but the buck, as much as it has ever done, stopped with Bertie.
“The Government has misled the Football Association of Ireland and the Scottish Football Association,” said Labour’s Pat Rabbitte at the time. “It has damaged the image of our country and made a laughing stock out of us. Bertie Ahern thought that Stadium Ireland would be a monument to his memory, it has instead turned out to be a personal disaster for him.”
It was a bit of a blunder, but what also cost Ahern the legacy of co-hosting a major football tournament was not the gaping hole in the ground at Abbotstown, but a one-vote victory for those in the GAA Congress who opposed the abolition of Rule 42.
Ahern needed two stadiums at the time. He had two on the ground and one in his head. As much as he wanted the latter to transpire, he could have done without it if the doors of Croke Park had opened sooner and Lansdowne Road got the face-lift it urgently needed.
A decade later, headquarters has been welcoming all and sundry for the last five years and Lansdowne looks a million dollars, having had, well, 500 million dollars spent on it. So, the FAI confirmed yesterday, before last night’s deadline for expressions of interest, Ireland will be “joining the Scottish FA and the Welsh FA in putting forward an expression of interest to host Uefa Euro 2020”.
In a brief statement, the association emphasised the “interest is preliminary”. It added: “At this stage no bids would be expected or required by Uefa for at least 18 months.”
That may be the case, but the prospects already look a lot more favourable than they did almost 10 years ago. In fact, with Dublin on board, the bid, it seems, would be significantly strengthened.
The Uefa requirement for the tournament looks likely to be at least two stadiums of 50,000 seats; three of 40,000 and four of 30,000.
Irish involvement would mean seven of the 10 grounds expected to be included in a package would have a capacity of 50,000 or more – the Millennium Stadium (74,500), Murrayfield (67,500), Croke Park (67,500 all-seated), Celtic Park (60,506), Hampden Park (50,670), Ibrox (51,082) and the Aviva Stadium (50,100).
Only Kiev (60,000), the Ukrainian venue for the Euro 2012 final on July 1st, is comparable from this year’s hosts, though the Welsh would likely need to bring the capacity of Cardiff City Stadium above 30,000, and Pittodrie and Easter Road in Scotland would need work.
Another sticking point on the stadium issue could come from Glasgow, where Uefa felt, in 2002, there was insufficient infrastructure to cope with three venues – Hampden Park, Ibrox and Celtic Park.
Outside the grounds, Dublin, it would seem, is well-placed to host a group in what would be a 24-team tournament. The services are adequate, accommodation is plentiful and there are well-established transport links to Scotland, and especially Wales, by air and sea – journeys a world away from the 1,785km trek from Poznan to Donetsk Irish fans will be hoping to make next month.
The bid might also be favoured because it appears a low-cost option. “Austerity” is the buzz word around Europe and Uefa may be keen to see the burden shared again, after France 2016, rather than land the other interested parties – Turkey and Georgia – with the entire bill.
Perhaps the most compelling case to be made for the joint-bid, however, is it’s not from Turkey.
Uefa president Michel Platini had said he would support a Turkish bid if their Olympic dreams for the same year fall through, but he may be rethinking that promise after a recent match-fixing scandal resulted in Fenerbahce being thrown out of the Champions League.
A total of 93 officials, players and coaches, including the president of the defending champions, are on trial, accused of helping fix matches last season. Uefa will not have been impressed, either, by the decision not to charge the clubs allegedly involved and may welcome a viable alternative.
